LinkedIn: Connecting the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful

What do people find when they search your name in one of the everyday search engines such as Google? Or perhaps a more accurate question is, what do you want people to find when they search your name in Google? Through LinkedIn, people are given power to control what comes up first in Google search and indeed other search engines when their name is put into the search bar.

What is LinkedIn? I hear the question being asked. Linked in is one of the older social networks that in most cases operate on a more professional level than its competitors such as Facebook, Myspace, Bebo etc. Since it was established in 2003, Linked in has grown to a massive size.

“LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 277 million members in over 200 countries and territories.”(5)

LinkedIn is both a way to control the information that can be found about an individual or business, and an information system in its own right. It allows people to build up a professional personal profile where they can advertise themselves along with their skill sets and previous employed and qualifications. People build up “Connections” through using LinkedIn in a similar fashion that a Facebook user would build up “Friends”. This creates a web or network of people that they directly know, or that their connections know. It allows Employers to post/advertise vacancies and job openings and on the opposite hand, allows people to search for possible employment. “Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.” (1).

This is what the average LinkedIn profile looks like. From the way that it is laid out, you can clearly see current and past employment along with an education history. The Persons connections can also be clearly seen. At the top of the profile you can easily get in contact with the person who owns the profile. This is convenient for employers and employees respectively.

Linked in continues to grow and evolve with the every advancement in modern technology, adapting and bettering itself. It is available on multiple platforms and has integrated itself into the every day lives of millions of people on a professional level. There is simply no other tool that combines the social aspect of an information system with a professional nature to such a degree. Although it is necessary to have a LinkedIn profile, your chances of employment and connecting with other people with shared interests are certainly better with one.